Our people
Fun
We love our work and believe in the value of having fun while we work.
Learning
We are a learning organisation and are always striving to learn more and do better.
Integrity
We operate with the highest integrity. We do what we said we would do and we say what’s there. We deliver exceptional value to our clients. We take the time to do things right. We choose to work on projects that we care about and believe in and work with people that we respect.
Care and Repsect
We care about our people, our clients and our impact. We strive to move in the world with care and respect for body, mind and spirit.
Our Values
Why the name?
It’s easy to get disheartened when working in social change on issues such as violence, discrimination and disadvantage. It can often feel like we take one step forward and two steps back. That’s why we are in this for the long haul and our name reminds us of taking it one step at a time.
Red has often been used to negatively reference women and the feminine regularly in storytelling such as scarlet letters, red shoes and red riding hoods. It's also been associated with red tents, red threads and women's business. In some of our cultural backgrounds, red is the colour of luck and prosperity. We are keen to reclaim the colour red for strength, fortitude and fun.
So we’re walking this journey towards a more just, more equal world together, one red step at a time.
Our values
In construction
Digital Facilitator / Strategic Illustrator
Catherine Drysdale
Cat specialises in visual communication and workshop design. Highly accomplished in both graphic facilitation and traditional facilitation, Cat’s diverse corporate experience has given her a knack at translating complex ideas and concepts to clear and highly engaging storytelling artefacts. Cat’s portfolio of visual work includes graphic recording, animated video, illustration and infographics. Cat sits on the committee for Graphic Recorders Australia, the professional association for graphic facilitators.
CEO, Institute of non-violence
Hala Abelnour
Trained in Psychology and Social Work, Hala seeks to share ideas and knowledge that allow people to grow together. She is a strong advocate for anti-racism, gender equity and sustainable living. Hala is the founder and director of Global Echo Consultants, and the CEO and founder of the Institute of non-violence. Through these spaces she works with a team of experts to design and deliver niche training and other services focusing on:
organisations implementing justice, equity, diversity and inclusion; anti-racism; and the intersections between gender and race;
applying an intersectional feminist framework to family violence response; safely engaging individuals who use family violence
Founder, Yuimaru Partnerships
Zuleika Arashiro
Zuleika has over twenty years of experience with applied research, advocacy and policy analysis, in Australia and internationally. Following the Yuimaru concept, Zuleika's consultancy work is driven by shared goals, collaborative practices, and balance of power.
Angela Jackson, Emily Millane and Emma Gray
Impact Economics & Policy
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Impact Economics and Policy brings together a group of expert economists and policy specialists with experience working for government, non-for-profits and big four consulting. Established at the start of 2022, our mission is to partner with clients for impact through providing robust evidence, fresh analysis and strategic communication to tackle Australia’s biggest public policy challenges.
Erfan Daliri and Sophie Appleton
Kind Enterprises
Kind Enterprises works with employers, educators and government departments to design strategies for social cohesion and positive social impact. Kind Enterprises is led by CEO, Erfan Daliri, who is an author, educator and social change consultant. He is a JEDI specialist (Justice, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion) and guides the company's program development and strategic consulting. Erfan has a Masters degree in Communication for Social Change and has 20 years of professional experience in participatory community development, social change consulting, anti-racism strategy, First Nations advocacy and settlement services. He is also a poet, motivational speaker and director of Newkind Social Justice Conference.
One Red Step supports the Newkind conference each year.
Collaborators
Stacey Ong (she/her)
Founder, leader, funmaker
Stacey has over 15 years’ experience working with government, corporate and NFP clients in social policy.
Prior to founding One Red Step, she was a Director in management consulting with PricewaterhouseCoopers focusing on social policy and was their national staff lead for cultural diversity and inclusion for three years.
Stacey is also the Interim Chair of Safe and Equal and Board Director of Melbourne City Mission. She sits on the Finance and Audit Subcommittee with Our Watch.
She was a 2019 finalist in the Women's Agenda Leadership Awards for Emerging Leaders in Professional Services.
Education
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Bachelor of Arts and Commerce, University of Melbourne
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Graduate Diploma of International Affairs, Australian National University
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Company Directors Course, Australian Institute of Company Directors
Joanne Shan (she/her)
Social Policy Consultant, spacemaker, platform creator
Joanne is a Tamil, Sinhalese and Burgher woman from the island now called Sri Lanka, made in Naarm on Wurundjeri Country. Growing up in the multicultural South East suburbs of Victoria, and then moving to the upper-class white suburbs of the Mornington Peninsula, Joanne saw the way the white dominant culture looked at her through a different lens, one that exploited her diversity to its advantage. She often felt too foreign to call anywhere home, constantly being asked 'where are you from'. This led her to Australian Indigenous Studies, Critical Race & Whiteness Studies at university and to spend the last five years working with organisations who value cultural dignity, and unlearning internalised racism, particularly with with young people.
Joanne works in community health making COVID messaging accessible so that all communities can feel informed about COVID and the vaccines. Joanne is also developing a culturally responsive coaching program for young people of colour, using narrative therapy as a tool for fostering a collective sense of belonging and identity that does not come at the cost of erasing First Nations Indigenous peoples.
Stacey Ong (she/her)
Founder, Leader, Funmaker
Stacey is a Malaysian Chinese woman and has over 17 years’ experience working with government, corporate and NFP clients in social policy.
Prior to founding One Red Step, she was a Director in management consulting with PricewaterhouseCoopers focusing on social policy and was their national staff lead for cultural diversity and inclusion for three years.
Stacey is also on the Board of Safe and Equal and Melbourne City Mission. She is a member of the Community Advisory Group for the Melbourne Social Equity Institute. Stacey is a Fellow with the Women's Leadership Institute of Australia.
Stacey was a 2019 finalist in the Women's Agenda Leadership Awards for Emerging Leaders in Professional Services.
Education
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Bachelor of Arts and Commerce, University of Melbourne
-
Graduate Diploma of International Affairs, Australian National University
-
Company Directors Course, Australian Institute of Company Directors
Joanne Shan (she/her)
Social Policy Consultant, Spacemaker, Platform creator
Joanne is a Tamil, Sinhalese and Burgher woman from the island now called Sri Lanka, made in Naarm on Wurundjeri Country. Growing up in the multicultural South East suburbs of Victoria, and then moving to the upper-class white suburbs of the Mornington Peninsula, Joanne saw the way the white dominant culture looked at her through a different lens, one that exploited her diversity to its advantage. She often felt too foreign to call anywhere home, constantly being asked 'where are you from'. This led her to Australian Indigenous Studies, Critical Race & Whiteness Studies at university and to spend the last five years working with organisations who value cultural dignity, and unlearning internalised racism, particularly with with young people.
Joanne works in community health making COVID messaging accessible so that all communities can feel informed about COVID and the vaccines. Joanne is also developing a culturally responsive coaching program for young people of colour, using narrative therapy as a tool for fostering a collective sense of belonging and identity that does not come at the cost of erasing First Nations Indigenous peoples.
Laura Smith (she/her/they)
Community Co-design & Policy Lead
Laura is a Maylayali Indian and British woman, who grew up in the UK and Malaysia and now lives in Naarm, Wurundjeri Country. Trained as an architect, she is an artist and innovator who is passionate about co-creating strategies to address complex problems with those most impacted. Her professional experience across the public and private sector in social equity, sustainability, and urban design, alongside her lived experience, enables her to draw on wide-ranging skills, tools, and methods to facilitate systemic change.
Prior to One Red Step, Laura co-founded Make Do and Draw, an art and architecture practice that facilitated creative workshops on the impacts of inequity and gentrification in London. She is a former British Council Lina Bo Bardi Research Fellow in Brazil, where her research explored design as a tool for social and cultural inclusion. She most recently worked as Manager of the SV Lab at Sustainability Victoria and as a Senior Consultant at the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission.